[ad_1]
About 150 people marched outside the Rebecca Street office of MPP Stephen Crawford on November 25 to protest the provincial government’s recent housing-related initiatives.
In recent weeks, Doug Ford’s government has opened up protected Greenbelt lands for development, ordered Halton Region to expand its city limits, and introduced Bill 23. The law would curtail the powers of municipalities, and conservation authorities need to regulate development while cutting fees paid by developers. to build infrastructure.
The Greenbelt is the world’s largest area of protected farmland, wetlands, forests, rivers, and lakes in Southern Ontario. It covers almost two million hectares.
Recently, the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, Steve Clark, launched a 30-day consultation on proposed changes to the Greenbelt. But despite protests, only 7,400 hectares of Greenbelt land will be cleared to build homes.
The government says the changes are needed to spur construction and meet the goal of building 1.5 million more homes in Ontario over the next decade.
On Friday, Oakville critics voiced their dismay at the plan and – as one protester put it – “educated the rest of the community.”
With talks of a global recession and uncertain times ahead, protester K. Kelly believes that our farmland and natural resources are among the world’s greatest assets. Canada, and opening up parts of it for housing is out of the question. “We are a big exporter of food, and protecting these lands is important for our own survival,” he said.
Kelly, one of several young protesters, was not surprised by the lack of young people in attendance. He chalked it up to indifference and the fact that it was a weekday morning. “Young people think that even if they show up to protest, nothing will change. But if a lot of people think that way, it will be true.”
Sharing posts on social media wasn’t enough for Kelly. He had to show up in person because “we have to stand for something.
He tries to tag more of his friends to oppose him.
“We have to show the younger generation that we have to stand for something.” – K. Kelly, protested
MPP Stephen Crawford did not address the protesters directly but wrote that he supports the public’s right to protest. He also wants to clear the air because he believes Bill 23 has been misinterpreted by many.
“The province waives development charges only for non-profit and co-op housing […] which will encourage the construction of housing supply for those who need it most.”
Crawford also took the opportunity to point out that while 7,400 acres will be removed under the plan, “9,400 acres will be added to the Greenbelt in other locations.”
Meanwhile, others at the rally, like Kim Bradshaw of StopSprawlHalton, were candid about their presence at the protest. “We want Ford to know that he needs to listen to his constituents. Just feeding his cronies development money is not going to get us affordable housing.” In fact, Bradshaw doesn’t believe the More Homes Built Faster act will bring about affordable housing.
“If Ford had done any research,” he said, “he would have known that you have to build affordable housing where services already exist.” He says Greenbelt homes will “actually divert resources from building affordable housing because people will have to build services all ‘outside the city limits’.”
Protestant Bill Hunter shared that sentiment.
Aside from Ford’s broken promise to never touch the Greenbelt, Hunter said that “it’s not going to be possible for housing in the Greenbelt to be affordable” and that “developments are really expensive.”
He also feels that Ford’s hands are not tied as tightly as they seem, because “there’s a lot of ground left for development. We can go up; we can go sideways.”
“There’s a lot we can do without touching the Greenbelt.” – Bill Hunter, protester
[ad_2]
Source link
